Although not charged in the kidnapping plot, Niloufar Bahadorifar, also known as Nellie, was arrested July 1 in California on charges that she has provided U.S. financial and other services to Iranian residents and entities and some financial services supported the plot and violated sanctions against Iran, according to a release.
The indictment said Bahadorifar, 46, originally from Iran, works at a California department store. Bahadorifar’s lawyer, Assistant Federal Defender Martin Cohen, declined to comment.
Bahadorifar has pleaded not guilty to charges lodged at the time of her arrest and been released on bail, authorities said. She still faces arraignment on charges in Tuesday’s superseding indictment.
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NEW YORK (AP) â An Iranian intelligence officer and three alleged members of an Iranian intelligence network have been charged in Manhattan with plotting to kidnap a prominent Iranian opposition activist and writer in exile and take her back to Tehran, authorities said Tuesday.
An indictment in Manhattan federal court alleges that the plot was part of a wider plan to lure three individuals in Canada and a fifth person in the United Kingdom to Iran. Victims were also targeted in the United Arab Emirates, authorities said.
The identities of the alleged victims were not released but Brooklyn-based Masih Alinejad confirmed that authorities had told her she was among the targeted victims.
In this July 13, 2005, file photo, outgoing reformist Iranian President Mohammad Khatami talks on the phone with the mother of female journalist Masih Alinejad, right, after meeting with journalists in Tehran, Iran. Prosecutors in the US alleged Tuesday, July 13, 2021, that Iran planned to kidnap Alinejad, famous for her campaign against the Islamic Republic s mandatory headscarf, or hijab, for women. Iran did not immediately comment on the allegation Wednesday, July 14, 2021. (AP Photo/Hasan Sarbakhshian, File)
NEW YORK (AP) An Iranian intelligence officer and three alleged members of an Iranian intelligence network have been charged in Manhattan with plotting to lure a US resident and human rights activist from New York to Iran, authorities said Tuesday.
Authorities charge 4 in Iranian plot to kidnap U.S.-based journalist, 4 others
An Iranian intelligence officer and three alleged members of an Iranian intelligence network have been charged in Manhattan with plotting to lure a U.S. resident and human rights activist to Iran, authorities said Tuesday. Three people in Canada were also targeted, the indictment alleges.
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The Associated Press ·
Posted: Jul 13, 2021 10:19 PM ET | Last Updated: July 14
Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad speaks on stage at the Women In The World Summit in New York in 2019. Alinejad was allegedly the target of a kidnapping plot by four Iranian intelligence operatives.(Brendan McDermid/Reuters)
Iranian Agents Devised Audacious Plot To Abduct US-Based Journalist: Feds
07/13/21 AT 10:50 PM Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad said Iranian president Hassan Rouhani was involved in the plot to abduct her. Photo: Iranian Presidency / -
KEY POINTS
Alinejad is known for her criticism of the current Iranian regime
Four Iranian nationals have been charged by the DOJ, including an Iranian intelligence official
Authorities said the plot was part of a wider plan to get regime-critical individuals to Iran
Four Iranians have been charged by the Department of Justice over an audacious scheme to kidnap a Brooklyn-based human rights activist and journalist who has written works critical of the Iranian regime.